The Development of the Novel in the 20th Century

4. The novel from 1881 to 1914
Over the eighteen eighties there was a split in fiction. The first indication towards it was Henry James' essay "The Art of Fiction" (1884), which referred to the novelist's calling as a "Sacred office". Besides, there appeared a stratification of fiction due to primary education for all. Parallel to this, novelists saw themselves apart from the public, as dedicated men. This new modern conception involved dignity and a sense of glory. Another change was from the three-volume novel to the one volume one. Together with the demands of the new publics, this shortening divided the Victorian novel into the categories of fiction we know today. The key name in the eighties is Henry James, who strove to give the novel the aesthetic intensity of poetry or painting. The two dominant themes in his work are the "international subject" and that of the innocent. After the eighties the novel became the dominant prose form.
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